Behind the scenes at Bizarre Creations

Situated in the heart of Liverpool's industrious estate, you'd be forgiven for
not having a clue where the Bizarre operations take place. Echoing the wardrobe
into Narnia, Bizarre's headquarters doesn't look much from the outside, but once
you enter a world of chirpy characters, spacious offices and vivid walkways,
you're quickly made to feel welcome. With the bleak British weather taking grip,
we entered the studio eager to learn about Blur's development, and hoping to
gain a rare insight into how things work at one of England's top development
teams.

It was with pleasure that we were met at the door by Junior Designer Andy
Kearney, our tour guide for the morning. Welcoming us with open arms, our first
stop put us with Lead Environment Artist Chris Downey. Nonchalantly turning
round from his work desk, he began discussing what makes Blur's tracks more
exciting than the competition.

A lot of thought has clearly been
put into the track design on Blur. Although environments are simple, they
represent their influences excellently. Downey proudly showed us real-life
images of London's Hackney area, and San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge,
and then revealed in-game comparisons. Each map has been mirrored almost
identically, but Downey and the team placed the emphasis on finding visually
interesting areas and then adapting them to create a number of straight-forward
routes.

By opting to design like this, Downey excitedly announced the team are trying to
create iconic moments. Instead of incorporating a huge rock that would cut off
the route around the Golden Gate Bridge, they place a neon-lit tunnel in place
as an alternative. A huge bunker also stands in the shadow of the real landmark,
but the team have made it bigger and brought it closer to the route players will
take, all in aid of “breaking up something visually uninspiring” and adding
flair to it without losing familiarity. As we moved on from Downey, he announced
that Bizarre's scouting team only had one limitation when mapping environments:
the element of danger. He proudly revealed that every location they scouted made
it into the full game: a testimony to their design skill and pedigree.

Our next stop had us sitting in the
offices of Lead Car Artist's Jason Bowers and Ben O'Sullivan. Concept art
littered the walls, all ready for judgment like Simon Cowell choosing his
American Idol finalists. Bowers and O’Sullivan explained in-depth as to how over
twenty five fully-licensed cars have been adapted to the Blur world – all of
which had to be approved by the manufacturers themselves. If BMW didn't like the
shiny new rims or view-sapping spoiler, it would be back to the drawing board.
Luckily, Ben announced most manufacturers were supportive in their designs, and
appreciated the unique, hand-drawn visions the team came up with.

Interestingly, the two designers also digressed into talking about the
multi-layer damage model for Blur. Each car's visual damage is based round
contact points, and also have to approved by manufacturers. Highlighting a
particularly flimsy door or front bumper in the game could have an affect on
business in the real world, and comes under strict scrutiny from the powers
above. Understandably, there wasn't a single manufacturer who agreed to showing
damage on the driver's section of the car. Even if you get ripped apart by a
number of Bolts (three shot blast), flipped out of control by the ridiculously
powerful Shunt (homing missiles), or even crumpled under the exploding Barge
(360 degree blast), you're driving side will remain in tact. It's creepy, but
you'll be hard pressed to find a game where licensed vehicles allow you to
damage the driver's seat with anything more than a few scratches, particularly
directly above your character's head.

After speaking to the environmental and car designers, we progressed into a
small office near the recreational centre. Lead Audio Designer Mike DeBelle and
Audio Designer Nick Wiswell ushered us into their cramped office, sporting huge
smiles for what was to come. This was certainly the highlight of the trip, as
the guys spoke about their influences behind the audio set-up, and showcased how
the team's “clean slate” after joining Activision has paid off. With influences
from Hollywood from films such as Star Wars, Ironman and Transformers, DeBelle
and Wiswell quickly stopped talking and turned the volume up in order to treat
us to the best of Blur's firepower.

It must be said, witnessing a Blur
race unfold with full 5:1 surround sound is an enthralling experience.
Projectiles creep up behind you, making their way from the back of the room and
towards your trembling chassis in an intense battle to get out of the way. Just
as impressively, any shields you use act as a barrier against sound. This means
if you're racing in third-person, your car's engine purr and screeching tires
are hushed out, but if you're racing in first-person, any noises from outside
your shield's protective radius become quieter and less intense. It's a smart
touch, and certainly gives the sense that you're taking part in a skirmish
that's come straight from the big-screen.

Humorously, the audio designers then decided to show us their favorite prop for
creating Blur's audio: a beaten up car door. Wiswell told us stories about how
they created the individual tremors of mud hitting your car, or gravel spewing
from under tires. It seems that throwing stones and forcing two grown men to
bash car doors together is a simple yet highly effective way of recreating a
high-speed chase, as once the two hundred layers of active sound are pieced
together, it's rather impressive.

The two designers announced that
there aren't any stock sounds in the game, as everything from heavily modified
engines and twin exhausts have been modeled separately to provide a sense of
scope that many racers overlook. Acknowledging the success of racers such as
Forza Motorsport 3, DeBelle and Wiswell confirmed they “keep an eye on the
competition,” and so far, haven't been outdone- aside from Blur's inability to
include a honk for each car, as the designers jokingly taunt themselves over
running out of buttons.

Bizarre Creations have certainly put their success to good use by building the
custom studio we enjoyed visiting, and shaping a workplace that invites
creativity. With graffiti-clad walls, all of which has been custom designed to
showcase Bizarre's greatest character's and games, and housing just under two
hundred staff members, there's a real feel-good factor about the place. Awards
litter the brightly colored halls, as employees from all over the world set upon
the task of producing the best game they possibly can.

It was a real pleasure meeting the team who've modestly been going about their
business on Blur for two and half years now. As the release dates of May 25 in
the US and May 28 in the UK draw nearer, one question still begs to be answered:
how the hell do they get any work done with a Killer Instinct arcade machine
near the kitchen?